Valentino Rossi heads for this home Misano MotoGP rounds looking to build on last y♌ear'🌳s strong showing by all the Yamaha riders.

M1s finished second (Fabio Quartararo), third (Maveric♉k Vinales), fourth (Rossi) and fifth (Franco Morbidelli) last season - and the only rider to beat them, Honda's world 🧸champion Marc Marquez, won't be present this time around.

But there will also be some anxiety within the Yamaha camp due to t🐲heir Austrian struggles, which saw Rossi ranked as the top M1 rider, albeit in fifth and ninth places.

The twisty nature of Misano should at least ne💯gate some of Yamaha's top speed issues, while a recent resurfacing is expected to provide high gr♏ip levels - usually favourable for the M1.

Should Rossi land a place on the rostrum this Sunday, it would be his 200th premi🔥er class podium and help improve on his curren🧔t seventh in the world championship rankings, 25 points from Quartararo.

"The two rounds in Misano are nex💜t. Racing at this track is always very special for me. It‘s very close to my house, ♕just 10 kilometres down the road. It‘s very easy for me to get to the circuit, and it‘s also comfortable to be so close to home," Rossi said.

"Last year we were really strong here, so we hope we can continue to build onto this over these next꧂ two we꧋ekends and get some positive results. We finished just off the podium last year. We want to fight for the top positions again this time round."

"We‘re feeling positive♈ about our potential here, Misano is a circuit both our riders like and our bike also suits the track lay-out well," added team director Massimo Meregalli.

"We always think of Misano as a ’home GP‘ for our team.🉐 Racing here two times in a row is something we‘re really looking forward to. It‘s also nice that we will have some spectators allowed on the grandstands this weekend, so we can have a small taste of the usually fantastic atmosphere at this c⭕ircuit.

"It will be a 💮busy period. We have two consecutive races here, and we also have a test in Misan♍o next week on Tuesday. It will be a very important track day, because it will be the first and last opportunity for us to test new items during the 2020 season."

Meanwhile, Rossi is sure to provide some form of update on his 2021 plans this weekend, with the current delay in officially confirming a Petronas Yamaha move s🌊pawning rumours he might be having second thoughts...